Essays in Labor Economics

Abstract

This dissertation explores sources of gender inequality in labor markets. It first empirically documents how individuals form and update beliefs about themselves and others. It then asks how differences in beliefs and belief-updating about men and women lead to gender inequality in labor markets. The first chapter uses data from the medical field to show that a person's gender influences the way others interpret information about his or her ability. The second chapter provides evidence that we use gender when allocating credit for group work when individual contributions are unobservable. The third chapter asks whether women who reach the top of their careers need to be as confident or more confident than their male counterparts.